This year, a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl is costing between $6 and $7 million. And while those prices may be eye watering, Fox reports they are all sold out.
The reason companies are willing to pay an arm and a leg for time during the game is pretty simple -- a lot of people watch the Super Bowl. Last year, 99.18 million tuned in to see the Rams take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Compare that to the most-watched television show of the same year -- Sunday Night Football, which drew just over 18 million.
But Super Bowl ad prices are about more than just eyeballs. It’s the fact that those eyeballs stick around.
Unlike other shows, the commercials during the game have become part of the draw. So instead of changing the channel or scrolling social media on your phone, viewers actually watch the ads.
Companies add to that appeal by upping in the ante every year, trying to be the most talked about part of the big game.
This is not a new phenomenom. Some of the most memorable commercials in television history have aired during the Super Bowl. Think Coca Cola’s 'Hey kid, catch' ad from 1979 or Apple’s 1984 commercial that of course aired in 1984 -- both were Super Bowl commercials that are now part of pop culture.